Guide to 11 Plus (11+) Verbal Reasoning

What is verbal reasoning?

Verbal reasoning tests a pupil’s ability to solve problems using a combination of letters and words. It assesses the extent of a child’s literacy, their vocabulary, and their critical and constructive thinking skills.

What types of questions are in an 11+ verbal reasoning exam?

There are a wide range of question types in a verbal reasoning exam. As you are unlikely to encounter every possible variation in advance, it is better to focus on learning the principles. Here are some common examples of the type of question that you may come across in a verbal reasoning exam:

1. Synonyms and Antonyms: these questions will test a student’s ability to identify a word that is most similar to, or the opposite of, a given word in a phrase or sentence. You may be given a list of words and asked to identify the odd one out: for example, if four of the five words are synonyms you must find the one that doesn’t fit the pattern.
2. Codes and Sequences: these types of questions require the solving of codes or sequences using letters, numbers or symbols, or a combination of each. For every code or sequence, there is a rule that must be identified. Once you have found the rule, it must be applied to the code or sequence in order to find a missing letter, number or symbol. These questions often require the ability to discern patterns and connections using the alphabet.
3. Creating New Words: these exercises test the building of words and challenge a student’s grasp of spelling and vocabulary. You may be asked to find a letter, or string of letters, missing from one or multiple words. Familiarising yourself with the most common prefixes and suffixes and practicing difficult spellings are effective ways to prepare for these types of questions.
4. Logical Reasoning: these questions are based on the logic of a given statement and require you to arrive at the correct answer using only the information presented. These can be multiple choice, where you must identify information that doesn’t fit the statement or category. Or you may be given a selection of images and asked to identify the true statements. The key to these types of questions is to focus only on the information presented and not to make assumptions or guesses based on extra information you may know.

11+ Verbal Reasoning Example Questions and Answers 

Find the hidden word

What’s the skill? These types of questions require you to identify a word hidden between two separate words within a sentence. It’s important to work methodically from the start to the end of the sentence and pay attention to how many letters the hidden word should have - this may change each time.

Find a four-letter word hidden in the sentence.

Word analogues

What’s the skill? These questions require you to identify the relationship, or analogy, between words.

Choose one set of words from each group to complete the sentence sensibly.

Choose the word to fit a space

What’s the skill? These questions require you to decide on the most sensible missing word to complete the sentence. They may also be referred to as ‘cloze’ questions.

Choose the correct word from the brackets to complete the sentence sensibly.

The dog pranced (reluctantly, perfectly, briskly, hesitantly, airily) along the pavement on his walk.

Word meaning

What’s the skill? These questions require you to define a word within a sentence by using the context of that sentence to guide you.

Read the sentence and answer the question that follows.

I wished her a belated happy birthday. What does belated mean?

a) late

b) early

c) extremely

d) prompt

e) very

Letter Sequences

What’s the skill? These questions require you to apply algebra skills to an alphabet-based task.

Find the next pair of letters in the sequence

Number analogies

What’s the skill?  These questions test your ability to identify number relationships using mental maths and arithmetic skills.

Find the missing number.

Word Relationships

What’s the skill? These questions test logical thinking and your ability to identify patterns in the formation of words.

Work out how the letters of the words outside the first set of brackets have been used to create the word inside the brackets. Apply the same rule to the words outside the second set of brackets to create a new word.

Deduction

What’s the skill? These questions test your ability to identify the one true statement from a range of answers based on the evidence provided.

How can you help your child at home with 11+ verbal reasoning?

• Practice and feedback: verbal reasoning is a form of assessment that is quite unlike the typical subjects taught in primary school. As a result, it is especially important that your child takes the time to practice using accredited resources in order to become familiar with the types of questions and how to approach them. Only by practicing regularly can you identify the types of questions they struggle to answer. Once you are aware of these, you can help them to focus their preparation on these particular questions and build their confidence when answering them.
• Little and often: one of the best ways to help your child prepare for verbal reasoning is to adopt a ‘little and often’ approach, especially when getting started. You can focus on one question type per day and build up slowly to completing a whole question paper. This approach helps to avoid fatigue and boredom and will allow your child to get used to the challenging questions more gradually.
• Read and write: a robust knowledge of language is especially helpful for solving verbal reasoning problems. Regular reading and writing are beneficial in numerous respects, but the key is to help your child apply their knowledge to the particular question types. You might try reading together and drawing their attention to vowel combinations, prefixes and suffixes, so that they become attuned to these letter pairings. The key principle is to make the reading process active, rather than passive, if possible
• Break down difficult questions: if there is a particular question type that your child is struggling with, it can sometimes help to break down the question into simple, repeatable steps. This process will vary depending on the specifics of the question. For example, with a ‘letter sequence’ question, the breakdown might be to find the rule; check the rule; apply the rule. When your child is faced with a similar problem in the future, this mantra will help them to simplify their approach: find, check, apply.

Our top tips for the 11+ verbal reasoning exam

• Practice the fundamentals of spelling and make sure your child’s knowledge of the alphabet is up-to-scratch.
• Rehearse for the test by becoming familiar with the question types, using past papers from accredited sources.
• Develop simple mantras to help your child remember how to approach the questions that they find more challenging.
• Read the questions carefully. It is easy to make avoidable mistakes by simply mis-reading or not paying adequate attention to the question. To avoid this, encourage your child to practice reading the question once, then again more slowly before they answer, to make sure they have fully understood it.
• Read, read and read! The benefits from developing a regular reading habit cannot be overstated, especially when it comes to preparing for verbal reasoning.

11+ Verbal Reasoning Tutors

Each year Keystone supports many students preparing for the 11 plus verbal reasoning exams and interviews. The 11+ tutors we represent are experienced in the intricacies of the 11+ exams and interview techniques and how they differ between schools' assessments.

For more details on how Keystone can help with 11+ verbal reasoning preparation, book a free consultation.